Hokage sama
by SilverShine
Summary: Every Hokage needs his assistant. KakaSaku. One-shot.


A/N: This was actually a challenge Krickitat sent me a while back, and I'm pretty sure I'm too late for the competition, but here it is anyway. Hokage Kakashi. Enjoy!

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_**Hokage-Sama**_

One-shot

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It was the 18th of May when Tsunade's age jutsu failed and overnight Konoha's youthful Hokage became an old woman whose hard life of alcohol abuse showed. It was then that she stepped down, claiming if she couldn't even keep up a simple appearance jutsu, what good was she to protect the village? She'd reigned Konoha for over eight years and had done a bloody fine job, she said, so she deserved a nice retirement.

It was on the 19th of May that Kakashi was told he would be the next Hokage. Naruto still had a way left to go before he could take on the Hokage mantel, they said, and in the mean time, Kakashi would have to do.

Kakashi had had every intention of refusing the job, until he'd been informed that denying the position would lead to one of Danzou's favoured candidates becoming the next Hokage, and everyone agreed that the thought of anyone related to Root having a hand in the leadership of Konoha was one that sent shivers down their spines. So grudgingly, Kakashi entered politics.

Hokage-dom was not nearly as much fun as he'd expected, and he hadn't expected much to begin with. There were factions – and factions within factions – and not all of them were in Kakashi's favour. Things he'd never had to think about before; things like unemployment, trade unions, tax reforms, village infrastructure, diplomatic relations with other villages… now were all his responsibility. Most of it involved long meetings that went through the night, discussing options with people who knew more about these subjects than he did, signing papers he barely understood.

The world of politics was even more cutthroat than the shinobi world. There were more back-stabbers, traitors and cutthroat vultures waiting to pick him off should he show a moment's weakness, and what was worse was that unless they had a kunai in their hand, Kakashi didn't have a clue who his enemy was. He had to tread carefully. Because where he understood battle and strategy and knew how to watch opponents to see who was going to make the first move, _political _opponents were no where near as easy to read.

There were few he could trust. Everyone had an agenda. The slightest misstep could result in all those who would have him replaced by someone more easily controlled, descending upon him like a pack of gleeful rats.

Which was why he would have been utterly lost without Sakura.

In an ocean of treachery and technical jargon, she was his shining beacon of light that guided him through the darkness. She had spent seven years under Tsunade's tutelage and she had not only gained all the Godaime's medical and combat knowledge, she had, by a process of osmosis, become more politically savvy than Kakashi had ever appreciated before. Towards the end, when Shizune had gotten married and was off living her own life again, Sakura had stepped up to the plate to become the Hokage's assistant. And even though Tsunade had left, Sakura stayed on as assistant, giving Kakashi the benefit of her experience.

Kakashi didn't know what he'd do without her.

He didn't know what he'd do without that brisk voice waking him up in the morning, opening his windows and scolding him for falling asleep at his desk. He didn't know what he'd do without the cloth that she brought to wash the ink print from his cheek and the drool from his chin. He didn't know what he'd do if she didn't bring him a cup of coffee and didn't shove that biscuit in his mouth three seconds before she told him the ambassador from such and such a place was outside and adamant to be seen.

He didn't know how he'd cope without her organising his schedule. Without her reading through his reports and dossiers twice to glean them of spelling errors and grammatical faults, because she was one of the few people not stymied by his hand-writing. And she didn't know how much he appreciated it when she stayed behind when everyone else had gone home… just to keep him company when she had no obligation to do so.

But he didn't always appreciate her; like when she swooped into the office and plucked Icha Icha Comrades from his fingers and told him she would be keeping the book hostage until he dealt with the budget deficit. Or when she used her uncanny tracking abilities to locate him when he was attempting to hide from work in some supplies closet on the eighth floor, and then subsequently dragged him back to the office.

He'd fired her eight times now, but she never took any notice.

"What would you do without me?" was all she said whenever he grew annoyed enough to attempt yet another dismissal of her services.

Infuriatingly, she had a point. He didn't quite trust anyone else enough to hand over the responsibilities he handed to her, and he certainly couldn't handle it all by himself. So in the end he was resigned to quietly forget he kept firing her, though it usually wasn't long before she did something that made him glad he couldn't push her away, whether it was taking a heap of work off his shoulders or wringing the knots from those same shoulders with her skilful hands. She kept him going, and he was sure that without her he would have lost his mask, grown a beard and fled to the hills to hide out as a hermit for the rest of his days. She made this job bearable. Even so, it was still incredibly difficult for him to sit there and listen to team after team report to him and debrief him about all their wild and exciting missions. Hell, even the tedious missions sounded exciting to Kakashi these days.

Of course, there was certainly no harm in having a pretty, petite and young female assistant. People often mistook her for secretarial eye-candy, because few people could conceive that behind such a lovely face lay a sharp and analytical mind. Sakura didn't seem to care that people who came to see Kakashi talked down to her and treated her like she was part of the furniture.

"They underestimate my influence on you," she told him. "If they knew how much you depended on me, I'd only become a target to your opponents."

This was true, and only a handful of people knew how much work Sakura shouldered.

"You could be pulling my strings for your own nefarious purposes," he yawned to her one evening as she made him sign a dozen documents he hadn't read, though she promised were land planning permission forms. "I could be signing anything for all I know."

She only smiled at him and whisked away with the signed forms in hand, her hips swaying with every step.

Her hips did that more often these days. She wasn't a child anymore, and nor was she really a girl. She was a young woman, with all the bits that came with being a young woman and he felt no shame in appreciating that. It wasn't like his sex life had been especially active since he'd been inaugurated as Hokage and essentially jailed in this god-forsaken office. He hadn't actually had sex in over four months.

There had almost been a quickie in the closet once, involving the brunette who brought round the tea. Sakura had of course stumbled upon them before he'd even managed to unclip her bra, putting a stop to to proceedings in what remained the biggest cockblock of his life. This had roughly been around the third time he'd fired her. Since then, Sakura had taken over tea-bringing duties, much to Kakashi's lament, and even though Sakura was a much nicer looking girl than the brunette, retrospectively speaking, the major difference was that the brunette had been willing to let him stick his hand down her panties. Any kind of advance Kakashi made on Sakura – no matter how small, innocent or teasing – was met with a cold, hard stare.

She would make someone a truly terrifying wife someday, he decided. Any poor man who found himself married to that woman would find his life being run by her. The house would be decorated to _her_ taste only and the children would be trained up to be as obedient as small lapdogs.

And the man would probably enjoy every minute of it too.

Kakashi mused about the direction of his own life more often these days as well. He put it down to the fact that he'd suddenly found himself landed with a job that almost every child in the village had wanted at least at one time. He was at the very top of the career ladder, though it hadn't been his intention, and there was no higher rank to obtain than the rank of Hokage. He'd always been loftily satisfied as a jonin because while he knew he had achieved something great, there had still been greater things to shoot for. Now that he was a greater thing, he suddenly realised that, professionally, he had reached the finish line. All he had left to focus on now was his personal life.

He was getting on, he knew that. At the age of thirty-four he had had only a handful of serious relationships, one of which had nearly ended in marriage if it hadn't been prematurely ended with a funeral. He was the last living member of the Hatake family, and the Hatake genes were damn good genes. His ancestors were probably rolling around in the family grave to think that Kakashi had not yet sired any children to carry on the family name. As Hokage, his life was probably in more danger sitting behind that desk than he ever was out on the battlefield, and it would only take one well-planned assassination to put an end to the Hatake lineage once and for all.

But still, Kakashi was in no hurry. Children were small, irritating little creatures that spoke too loudly and ran around too fast. He had a feeling they would be more tolerable if they were his own, but his broodiness was still at acceptably dormant levels.

His sex drive however…

Kakashi sighed as looked out over the rooftops of 'his' village to the great wall of rock that dominated the landscape. There were five faces peering out of that rocky precipice, and a sixth was slowly emerging.

This was not something Kakashi had been extraordinarily happy about, but Sakura had reminded him that it was tradition and the villagers would not feel confident about a leader whose face they didn't even know. With great reluctance, Kakashi had shed his mask for a few minutes for the head architect while the man blushed and sketched out details. It was from that sketch that the face in the mountain was drawing from, and Kakashi was growing increasingly uneasy with every passing day and every emerging detail. He was _sure_ his nose wasn't really that sharp. And his mouth looked surly and angry, while his eyes lazy and vague.

"It's a good likeness, don't you think?" Sakura said, having sidled up beside him to join his observation of the mountain. Architects were crawling all over his face on pullies and ropes like ants on a carcass.

Kakashi wrinkled his nose. "Am I really so ugly?" he murmured.

Sakura's mouth twisted to the side as she looked up at him. "It's rock, Hokage-sama. I doubt it could ever do you true justice."

"Ah," he nodded. "So you're saying you think I am actually very handsome?"

She stared at him, unmoved. "Have you finished writing up the letter to the kazekage yet?" she asked him, steering the conversation away from his lame stab at flirting.

Kakashi sighed. "Nearly." If 'nearly' meant 'I've written at least two paragraphs'.

Sakura turned to his desk and began hunting through the piles of paper and folders strewn there. She pushed aside a nodding dog toy and picked up the report in question. "You've only written two paragraphs."

"So I have," he noted, slumping down into his blissfully comfy chair.

"You're going to have to rewrite this," she told him with a shake of her head.

"I have writer's cramp," he lied, holding up his hand in what he hoped looked like a pained claw. "I can't pick up anything even remotely pen-shaped."

She gave him an impatient look. "Well, you'll just have to use a typewriter then, won't you."

"No."

Sakura had been badgering him to use a typewriter since day one, but he personally hated the machines. He'd banned Kotetsu from using one on his desk because the delayed _clack clack click clack clack_ of the type hammering against the roll had been driving Kakashi slowly insane. He didn't like the smell of the ink, or how he had to hunt and peck for the right keys and take five minutes to write a sentence that could have been scribbled out in less than five seconds. He hated how the lever always jammed and how the roll always seemed to break whenever he touched it. It was the most useless machine ever invented.

But Sakura was glaring at him now. "This has to be done by tonight," she said sternly. "You're going to use a typewriter – and don't look so worried, I'll help you. You really need to learn some time, Hokage-sama."

He shot Kotetsu a despairing look, but Kotetsu was doing a poor job of concealing his smile. Izumo, at the third desk in the room was actually sniggering as he scribbled away at his ledger.

"One of these days I'm going to fire all three of you," Kakashi threatened.

"Yes, yes," they all chorused, not believing a word of it.

Sakura disappeared into the supplies closet and soon emerged, lugging an enormous and dusty, old typewriting machine with her. She slammed it down on his desk atop the layers of chaotically organised papers and began setting up. Kakashi could only look on in despair.

"Don't be such a technophobe," Sakura scolded him mildly as she leant across his lap to wipe the dust from the cylindrical roller and insert a sheet of paper.

"Technological progress doesn't scare me," Kakashi said tritely. "But _that_ is a clear step backwards for humanity."

"Nonsense," Sakura said brightly, and once she was finished with the set-up she took his hand and placed it on top of the lever beneath hers. "Right, now all you have to do is move the lever around with this hand and use your other to move the type board," as she said this, she took his other hand and guided it the same, "and like this, all you have to do is find the right key and… there you have it. Easy!"

Kakashi frowned. Sakura was leaning rather close and he could smell the faint aroma of her perfume, mingling with her skin and shampoo and natural body scent. She smelled like flowers, although Kakashi wasn't familiar enough with plants to know which ones. All he knew was that her scent was musky and sweet and almost edible. He tried to block her invasive odour out of his mind – and the way her firm breasts were pressing up against his arm – and concentrated on the task at hand, which was infinitely less appealing than concentrating on his deliciously smelling assistant.

"You say 'easy'," he said, spinning the board from left to right and letting his eyes skim over the small keys. "But there's about three thousand characters on here…"

"What are you complaining about?" she retorted. "Copy Ninja Kakashi?"

He continued to frown, determined not to comply even in the slightest.

"Come on, it's not so hard," she said, and then, perhaps because standing over him was awkward and not very productive, she slid into his lap. "Let's type your name."

Kakashi froze in shock, staring at the back of her pink head as she perched delicately on his knees and guided his numb hands over the typewriter.

Click… click… click…

Click… click… click…

"There!"

Kakashi glanced over her shoulder at the paper on the roller and saw his name 'Hatake Kakashi' printed out in perfect characters.

"Did Tsunade train you to use one of these?" he asked.

She nodded, turning to smile back at him. "Yes. She dictated a lot."

"Can't I dictate to you?" he asked hopefully.

"No," she said shortly. "You have the sharingan. You can do this a hundred times faster than I can with my seven years of experience."

Kakashi's frown deepened. It was true that he could use the sharingan to memorise each and every key to the end that he would be able to type faster than an elite secretary on speed, but there _were_ limits. The sharingan was good for memorising the hand seals of a jutsu, which were usually anywhere between one and thirty. If each typeface on this typewriter was a singular piece of information to memorise individually, this would be the equivalent of copying a jutsu that had over three thousand hand seals.

"I'll get eye-strain," he complained.

"More so than from reading those books so close to your nose?" she asked rhetorically. "We'll take it slow, ok? Get your eye out and watch me carefully."

That, he had no trouble with. Sakura was certainly easy on the eyes and there was something appealing about watching her work. She shoed his hands out of her way and he had no choice but to let them fall back on the armrests of his chair as he leant forward, peering over her shoulder and catching another cleanly whiff of her hair in the process. With mechanical ease she shifted the roller over the board and with sure punches of the lever she picked up a type and smacked it against the roller before swiftly moving to the next type. Kakashi read the words she was slowly tapping out.

_Dear Esteemed Godaime Kazekage,_

"Right," she said setting her hands in her lap. "Now you go."

With a little mounting uncertainty, Kakashi reached around the much younger woman and took over the controls. He glanced at the rough hand-written draft sitting beside the machine with its two nearly illegible paragraphs and began roving the lever around the keyboard in search of the right keys. Tap, tap, tap, went the lever.

"Oh dear," went Sakura.

"What? Why?" Kakashi demanded.

"You misspelled 'the'. Look." She pointed to the paper on the roll. "You'll have to start again."

Kakashi let his hands drop with a sigh of defeat and leant back, faintly annoyed. His legs inadvertently spread a little wider and Sakura had to slide her weight onto one of his knees and hook her leg over the other. In that position he couldn't help but notice that her skirt was almost scandalously short and she was flashing him ample amounts of smooth, toned thigh sheathed in shimmering flesh-toned tights. Kakashi had to force himself not to look, because right then she was scowling at him. She tapped one manicured nail against the desk and raised an eyebrow. Kakashi drummed his fingers against his arm rests in return and raised his gaze to the ceiling.

Just because he was Hokage didn't mean he had to be mature.

She rolled her eyes at him "Maybe we should practise a bit more first? Keep typing."

"Type what?" he asked.

"Anything, it doesn't matter. You just need to get used to it."

With a sigh, Kakashi leant forward again and hijacked the controls.

_I could have written out this letter by hand by now, _he typed.

Sakura sighed. "But this is vital learning. If you don't learn it now you'll have to learn it some other time, and do you really want to send a letter to the Kazekage written in such appalling writing that he has to hire an interpreter?"

_Yes,_ he tapped.

Sakura shooed his fingers away and typed her response.

_Well, tough._

Kakashi took over again.

_You're tired._

Sakura looked at him oddly.

Kakashi quickly amended.

_fired._

"Well, that's the first time I've been informed I've been sacked by way of formal letter," she said dryly. "At least your speed is improving."

The sharingan had _some_ use then, besides being a leech on his energy.

_You're quite heavy, you know, _Kakashi tapped, shifting his leg that was beginning to fall asleep beneath Sakura's weight. _Have you stopped dieting?_

Sakura's heel connected with his shin beneath the table and Kakashi grunted in pain. Izumo and Kotetsu paused their work and looked over, and from their expressions and the significant looks they traded each other, they clearly mistook Kakashi's grunt of pain for something else.

_Great,_ he typed. _They think you're feeling me up beneath the desk._

_I'm not fat_ was Sakura's furious reply.

_You didn't have to kick me. Now they think I'm a pervert._

_So no change there then._

_I'm not a pervert._

_And I'm not fat._

_I know, but perhaps you could sit a little further back and distribute your weight better? My leg has tins and noodles._

"Wait, no..."

_pins and needles._

Sakura stayed sitting very still for a moment, thinking over his words very carefully as if searching for deception. "If this is some sort of perverted trick," she whispered.

"I can't feel my foot," he whispered back.

"Oh, alright," she grumbled, and carefully slid her weight further towards him. No longer was she sitting on his knees, now she was definitely on his lap. She straddled his thighs, her legs hooked over his and he dearly envied the underneath of his desk that was now receiving quite an eyeful of whatever lay beneath her skirt. Her bottom was nearly brushing his crotch, but not quite. There was still a modicum of respectful distance. "If you try anything," she hissed under her breath.

"My intentions are purely innocent," he said earnestly, though it wasn't actually true. It wasn't like he would have invited Naruto to wriggle up his lap. The fact that Sakura was a young, attractive woman with curves that could make armies of men weep probably had a lot to do with it.

"Ok, I think you can start on the letter," Sakura said, dragging the practise paper from the roll and inserting a fresh sheaf. "There you go."

Obligingly, Kakashi once again leant forward and put his arms around Sakura to reach the machine. She was much closer this time. Her back touched his chest and he could have rested his chin on her shoulder if he'd so wished. He began to type, but it was hard to concentrate with that sweet, musky scent invading his nose, and harder still to focus when his gaze kept darting down to her lap where her skirt had ridden up to very indecent proportions. It was then that he realised she wasn't wearing tights; she was wearing stockings. He could make out the lacy embroidery of the stocking's hem as it disappeared beneath her red skirt.

"You've misspelled 'weekly'," Sakura suddenly said.

A jab of impatience shot through Kakashi. "Shit…" This was what he got for letting her stockings distract him.

"It's ok," Sakura said quickly. "It's just a small mistake – we can go over it with white-out later to correct-"

Kakashi slammed the level down randomly.

_ukqwerfqwbedluyetrqwebr_ he typed expressively.

Sakura clicked her tongue with long-suffering patience. _You've ruined it now,_ she tapped.

_Don't care_

_Do you want to get this done, or do you want to keep messing around?_

_Do you want to be fired twice in one day?_

_Hokage-sama…_

_And stop wriggling like that._

_Like what?_

_Like you're deliberately trying to turn me on._

_Don't be crude,_ she tapped. _If I was trying to turn you on, I would do this._

In one incredibly nonchalant shuffle, she sat all the way back against him until her back was tight to his front and no longer was she sitting on his lap… but most definitely his crotch. Kakashi stiffened in shock, and willed another part of himself not to stiffen too.

She turned her head and gave him a coy, yet expectant bat of her eyelashes.

"Ok, point made," he mumbled, and quickly pushed her hips back onto his lap. And just in time too, because there really was no holding back the sudden throb of desire that had lanced through him and settled directly in that part of him she'd been sitting on. Sakura only smiled happily, oblivious to his sudden discomfort and clearly thinking she had won that short argument.

"Look, you can dictate to me and I'll write the letter if you're so adamant," Sakura said, moving straight back into business mode as if she hadn't just deliberately wriggled her bottom in places it really shouldn't wiggle unless she was inviting something more. Kakashi was still attempting to get over his shock and regain control over the sudden and fierce lash of arousal inside his pants. Fortunately, the Hokage robes were pooled in his lap and helped disguise what would have otherwise been a very noticeable erection.

As Sakura inserted yet another piece of paper into the machine, Kakashi glanced warily at the other two people in the room. Izumo and Kotetsu apparently hadn't noticed the short exchange, and for that he could only thank his lucky stars.

"Right, go on," Sakura said cheerfully.

"Dear Esteemed Yondaime Kazekage," Kakashi began flatly, and began reciting the introductory lines of the letter which involved the customary lines: sorry for taking up your time, I'm sure you're rather busy, your hair looks great today by the way, etc, etc. Unnecessary small talk that only made this tedious process of typewriting even more tedious.

It occurred to Kakashi, as he began dictating the subject of inter-village trade, that this wasn't at all fair. As he'd tried to write the letter, Sakura had been distracting him horribly with her innate female charms. Now that she was the one writing the letter, she seemed perfectly ignorant of any of his innate male anythings, like sitting in the laps of men was something she did everyday and nothing to get especially distracted by.

And that just wouldn't do.

So as Kakashi began rattling off proposals of trade goods and percentages and delivery times, he quite absently began to trace his finger in a small circle on Sakura's right thigh.

He knew he'd had an immediate effect on her because she paused typing and went very still.

"Something wrong?" he drawled. "Not made any mistakes have you?"

"I'm fine," she said, and then continued. As did Kakashi's finger.

"As you know," Kakashi dictated, "the Iwagakure Trade Representative has had Suna placed on the 'watch list' of countries engaged in discriminatory trade practices over its use of these filters – and, really, is something the matter, Sakura?"

Apparently she'd noticed that his finger had hooked beneath the hem of her skirt and was tracing the edge of the fabric in a nonchalant fashion. Her wrists were held rigid and he heard her swallow audibly. "Nothing, Hokage-sama." Her voice shook slightly.

"Well, then continue," Kakashi told her pitilessly. "New line. In light of the deteriorating trade relations with Iwagakure, Konoha is willing to open up a new avenue of trade with Suna in the spirit of friendship. That sounds about right, doesn't it, Sakura?" he asked, sliding his fingers along the inside of her thigh to trace the lacy hem of her stocking.

"Y-Yes, Hokage-sama."

Intrigued that she hadn't snapped off his hand and shoved it down his throat yet, Kakashi felt emboldened enough to touch a curious finger to the bare flesh above the lacy hem. The moment he did so, the lever in Sakura's hand misfired, slamming down the wrong character against the roller. She cursed under her breath.

"It's ok, you can just use some white-out later," he murmured, drawing the tip of his finger in a circle beneath the skirt. The skin of her inner thigh felt incredibly soft and smooth. And warm. And the higher his finger traced, the softer and warmer her flesh seemed to be.

The other two workers in the office didn't seem to have a clue what was going on. They continued working at their desks, neither aware that there was more going on between the Hokage and his assistant than dictating and transcribing.

Perhaps that was why Sakura wasn't reprimanding him? Maybe it was because she would feel humiliated if anyone found out about this and so was keeping her mouth shut, even though she probably detested his touch and would promptly behead him had they been alone. The trembling of her fingers as she reset the roller might not have been because of a pleasurable reaction, but because of barely suppressed anger.

Suddenly not so confident, Kakashi took his hand away and replaced it on his armrest. "The terms and conditions of the new trade agreement is open for discussion," Kakashi continued dictating, "though I'm sure an arrangement can be made that all parties can be… happy… with…"

He trailed off as he noticed that Sakura was not typing what he was saying.

_What's the matter?_

Kakashi glanced quickly at Izumo and Kotetsu uncertainly. "I… uh… propose a meeting of the councils of our two villages in order to better discuss the situation with Iwagakure…"

_Don't you want to touch me?_

"…and organise aid efforts to Amegakure…"

Sakura 'casually' shifted her position in his lap again, scooting back a little so his thighs cradled her shapely behind a tad more snugly. _I don't mind,_ she typed out._ Go ahead._

"… to promote good will between our three nations with the impending threat from Iwagakure…"

_I know a great way to promote 'good will', between __us__._

"… that… uh… we can… that is…" He'd completely lost his train of thought. Sakura paused her typing and gave him a deceptively innocent look over her shoulder as if she'd been doing nothing but obediently transcribing his words.

"Is something the matter, Kakashi-sama?" she asked candidly.

She was attempting to rattle him, just as he'd rattled her. And he supposed that he should have been more surprised at her apparent willingness to tease and be teased, but he wasn't. There had always been something a little off about his rapport with this girl since she'd become his assistant, and it had been a little more noticeable recently. So far he'd put it down to his male ego and an overactive imagination corrupted by Icha Icha novels.

It was only little things… like dropping her pen in front of his desk by accident and bending down to pick it up. She always seemed to stoop at just the right angle to present her lovely rear to his appraising eyes, and on some days when she wasn't wearing shorts, often a small glimpse of white panties could be seen.

Or the way she leant close as she helped him read through the convoluted legal language of the contracts put before him for signing. It was always a little too close. And she always seemed to lean in just far enough to give him a superb view of her cleavage should he choose to look.

Or perhaps it was her odd, contradictory behaviour regarding other women. Sakura was easily a very friendly girl who got along with everyone, but should a woman ever bat an eyelash in his direction while she was present, she would turn into a terrifying matron who could chase away that woman in less than fifteen seconds. Sakura said it was because he was the Hokage and he couldn't afford distractions of that nature at work, but she was never that uptight about any other kind of distraction.

It seemed to Kakashi that the one thing doing the most distracting in this office was her, though he had never been able to figure out if it was intentional or not.

Deciding enough was enough, Kakashi cleared his throat. "Izumo? Kotetsu? Aren't you guys going on your lunch break?"

The two men paused in the work. Kotetsu looked at the clock on the wall. "But… lunch isn't for another hour, Hokage-sama."

"Doesn't matter," Kakashi said dismissively. "I shall be generous to my employees today and give them two hours. Off you go."

Not quite believing their luck, and probably thinking it was some kind of trap, they got to their feet and cautiously made their way to the door. Izumo looked back at Sakura. "Aren't you coming, Sakura-san?" he asked.

"She will be shortly," Kakashi said darkly. He felt Sakura lightly pinch his knee for the double entendre.

The moment the door closed behind the two departing men, Kakashi leaned forward to place his hands against the desk, effectively caging the younger woman on his lap. He placed his lips close to her ear and murmured, "What are you doing?"

"What?" she asked, still feigning complete innocence. "You started it when you touched my leg."

"No, you started it when you sat on my lap," he retorted. "What are you up to? Blackmail? Bribery?"

Her head tilted to the side, presenting him with the long, pale curve of her neck. He could hear a pout in her voice, but it seemed to be real this time. "Is that what you think I'm like?"

Great, now he felt bad. "Well, perhaps not, but I'm sure you're up to something."

And because her neck was there, and it was accessible, Kakashi couldn't help himself. He lightly skimming his covered lips over her exposed skin and felt her shiver delicately in his lap. She was definitely open and responsive to his advances, so he let his hands trail up her bare arms to her shoulders, enjoying her smooth, supple skin.

"Why must there be an ulterior motive?" she asked, and her voice hitched slightly as he stroked his fingers over the sensitive skin on the inside of her elbows. "Maybe I just really like you, Hokage-sama… and I've always wanted you to touch me like this?"

"Is that so?" he murmured. Well that was good news. Because for a while now he'd found himself wanting to touch her too… although that probably had a lot to do with the subtle advances she'd been making.

"Yes," she hissed through her teeth as he nuzzled her throat, his hot breath scorching her skin even through the mask. "But also, I've been wanting to ask you about getting a raise-"

Abruptly, Kakashi let go of her and flopped back in his chair with a sigh. "I see. So that's how it is."

Sakura turned with a mischievous smile and twisted herself until she was reversed with her back to the desk and her knees beside his hips. "I'm kidding, Hokage-sama," she said, laughing breathlessly. "If that was really all I was interested in, I'd just bully you into giving me a raise."

He gave her an unmoved stare which belied the simmering heat in his blood at the sight of her straddling him in such a suggestive way. "Is that not what you're doing?" he asked flatly. "This seems like bullying to me."

"Alright then," she said, changing her tone and sitting primly upright in a way that pushed her chest out. "Will you give me a raise?"

"Of course," he said. He couldn't afford _not_ to give her a raise and risk losing her. To willingly lose Sakura would be like willingly amputating his right arm. "How does five percent sound?"

"Good enough," she said, nodding her agreement. "Now that that's settled, would you still feel taken advantage of if I kissed you?"

He turned his head away. "Completely abused," he told her.

"That's too bad," she whispered, and slowly leaned in to press her soft, warm lips against his cheekbone where his scarred skin met the nylon of his mask. Kakashi inhaled deeply, taking in that unnamed floral scent that clung to her body and clothes.

"I should fire you," he said as the tip of her nose bumped his temple. "Trying to seduce your poor boss…"

"Yes, you poor, poor man," she said ironically. "But you didn't seem to mind so much when you had your hand up my skirt."

"Was it up your skirt? I hadn't noticed."

"Yes, and it's on my ass as we speak."

So it was. But Kakashi had no desire to remove it. Instead he only pressed his fingers into the soft flesh of her rear and enjoyed the way she rocked forward slightly to loop her arms loosely around his neck with a sigh. Having already kissed one cheek, she now moved to kiss the other.

"People already think I'm too close to you, politically speaking," Kakashi said, hinting at some of the caution that was biting at his ankles. "It would probably be a very bad idea to confirm their fears that you have me twisted so completely around your little finger."

"That's true, but I'm mostly harmless," Sakura protested sweetly.

Kakashi smiled in dark amusement, "You're the furthest thing from harmless, Haruno Sakura…"

"Well then, we'll just make sure no one finds out," she said. "And besides… you won't be Hokage for much longer. Naruto has almost completed his apprenticeship, after all."

That would be a bittersweet day, the day he handed over all responsibility for this village to Naruto. The boy could handle it – he had the title of Hokage in his very blood, and he could fob work off even more successfully than Kakashi at times. But that would be the day that Kakashi would no longer have Sakura by his side. Undoubtedly she would become Naruto's assistant then.

Somehow he knew the bitterness of that day would outweigh the sweetness.

"Don't frown," she said, kissing his brow. "You're getting wrinkles."

What would he do without this young woman to look after him? What would he do when it was Naruto she had to dedicate most of her time and energy to?

A broody feeling washed over him as he realised that, selfishly, he didn't want Naruto to have this girl the way he had her now. _Particularly_ the way he had her now. He wondered if she would crawl onto Naruto's lap like this and kiss his face as she asked for a raise.

"Ryo for your thoughts, Hokage-sama," she said, tracing her finger along his masked jaw line.

"Will you continue on as Naruto's assistant when I go?" he asked her, masking the worry he felt with a tone of nonchalance, like he was merely asking her what she would be doing for her holidays.

Sakura wrinkled her small, perfectly formed nose. "Why should I? I was Tsunade's assistant. I only stayed on to help you because you're so useless with paperwork, and I fully plan to return to medicine at some point, you know."

"But then who will help Naruto?" Kakashi pointed out.

She smiled vaguely at him. "Naruto has many, many friends. More than you. He's the kind of person that people gravitate towards and he won't need me as much as you do."

Kakashi frowned. "I'm not that needy."

"You only need me in the sense that you need a cattle-prod," she reassured him. "If you didn't have me, you would spend all your time reading porn and neglecting your work."

"As it is, I have you and I still find myself indulging in distractions of the sexual nature while I neglect my work," he said dryly, letting his gaze slip down her face to her throat where it lingered around the narrow v-neck of her vest where a hint of cleavage could be seen. "This is definitely more distracting than 'porn'."

She sniffed at him. "I'll get lost then, shall I?"

She started to get off him, but Kakashi's hands quickly tightened on her waist, hauling her back to him. "You're the one uptight about distractions," he reminded. "I personally quite enjoy them."

A smile tilted Sakura's lips like he'd fallen straight into her trap. "Well, I am here to serve you in any way I can, Hokage-sama," she said quietly. "If there's anything I can do to make you more… _comfortable…"_ and she punctuated the word by rolling her hips down directly over his, and not even the voluminous shroud of his Hokage robes could disguise how hard he was for her already. The hastily bitten off groan didn't help much either.

"That…" he said, trying to control his breathing. "That was very naughty."

"Mm," she hummed her agreement and dragged the tip of her tongue along his earlobe before giving it a slight nip. "Maybe you should punish me?"

"Oh…?" Now his head was filling with images of a suitably naked Sakura bent over this very desk, moaning in excitement as he spanked that pert little ass for all her misbehaviour. And then he'd soothe her stinging flesh with soft stroking and kisses until she was begging for a relief only he could give her.

"Or maybe I should punish you?" she went on. "Letting yourself be distracted when you should be busy working – you're in far more need of a decent whipping."

"You whip me enough every day as it is, woman," he said quickly. She had such a dominating, bullying personality that he'd rather push _her_ against the desk and have her submit to him for once. Sometimes he was left wondering exactly who was Hokage in this office – Sakura or Kakashi? Usually he had to look at the Hokage monument on the mountainside to remind himself.

"Stop staring into space," she told him, "or aren't you interested?"

"Can't you tell how interested I am? You're sitting on the biggest indication."

"That could be anything," she said dismissively. "A kunai, a pipe, a leftover roll from lunch… Kakashi-sama, _prove_ you're enthusiastic."

She often accused him of having a very apathetic face that gave away nothing of how he was feeling, and that was known to annoy her every time he failed to show ample enough reaction to happy or sad occasions. When he'd been told he would be Hokage, he'd simply said 'Oh' and nodded his head slightly. When Mr Ukki had died from neglect a few months ago as a result of Kakashi's tied-up work schedule, he'd only sighed as he'd set out the withered plant and its pot next to the garbage cans. He was not an expressive man, and actions always spoke louder than words – or the face, in Kakashi's case.

So he tugged down his mask, tipped her forward against him and caught her lips with his own. She gasped in surprise, and Kakashi immediately took advantage of this to strike a deep, penetrating kiss right from the start, drawing her tongue into play and tasting her flavours like she was the sweetest candy of all. She even did taste a little like candy, and he was sure her sticky lip-gloss was cherry flavoured, making her seem all too edible to be a true human girl. Her mouth was delicious. The blood in his veins boiled higher and he held her tighter, grasping her hips to force them down against his own in a primitive grind, showing her that there was nothing unenthusiastic about his desire whatsoever.

Her first moan was soft, broken, and she gave an erotic shudder as he forced her hips down again, rubbing his arousal against her core. She was so hot. He could feel the heat of her though all the layers of their clothing and he knew that they could simply continue like this and easily reach satisfaction without the need to remove anything.

Sakura suddenly broke the kiss and leant back, far enough for her elbows to rest against the edge of the desk. "Ok," she whispered, with pink, swollen lips and heavy eyes. "You're enthusiastic."

"I never do things by halves," he replied smugly.

"You _always_ do things by halves."

"Yeah, well, not the things that matter." He found his gaze irresistibly drawn to her cleavage again, where her quick breathing made the soft swell of her breasts heave in a rather provocative way beneath her vest. Stiff nipples poked against the fabric and he gave into the urge to drag his finger over one of them, delighting in the way Sakura flexed her hips against his in return.

"Always with the breasts," she said in a mock irritable tone.

"Always?" he echoed.

"Don't think I don't notice the way you stare at me around the office."

"Well, there's not much else to stare at since you pretty much chased all the other women away," he pointed out.

Her look was unrepentant. "I may have."

"Were you jealous?"

She scowled. "No."

He didn't believe her. "Ah," he said, playing with the metal tag of her vest zipper. "So when exactly did you get it into your head to seduce me?"

"_You're _seducing _me_, actually."

"If that was true, then I'd be in control here, and that certainly doesn't feel the case."

"You're my boss. You're always in control of me," she told him with a wry smile that spoke otherwise.

"Is that so?" Well, he'd have to put that to the test. "Sit on the desk."

Sakura stilled and her eyes narrowed fractionally at him as she quickly tried to assess what he was thinking. Whatever she concluded, she decided to go along with it, and carefully lifted herself up off his lap to push the typewriter back and sit on the edge of the desk – the soles of her pumps resting on the lip of the chair between his knees. She looked uncertain, but at the same time aroused, and she seemed very interested in the sight of his lumpy lap.

"Take off your vest," he told her.

Sakura frowned. "No way!" she protested, hugging herself. "The door isn't locked – anyone could walk in!"

"Take off your vest or I'll fire you," he reiterated evenly.

"That's sexual harassment, you old bastard," she remarked.

"Indeed."

Giving him a dirty look, she began to drag the zipper down the front of her vest. He knew perfectly well that threats of dismissal meant nothing to this girl, so he felt no guilt. Sakura's put-upon, abused expression was all an act.

The vest slipped off her shoulders and from there she let it slide onto the floor. Beneath she wore a snug black camisole, as thin as tissue paper and twice as translucent. It was pretty obvious that she wasn't wearing a bra.

"And that too," he said, and watched a faint blush touch her cheeks as she hesitated for a long moment. Then, in a rushed movement as if to get it over with as fast as possible, she dragged the camisole over her head and threw it away. Her arms shifted self-consciously as if she wanted to cover herself, and her anxious gaze darted through the wide bay window behind him, probably expecting to see someone suspended from a rope, ogling her.

Kakashi had to resist the urge to touch her. She was perfect. Her breasts looked soft and full, small, but a good shape, and peaked with small nipples that matched her hair. In the harsh light of the day behind him, her skin seemed to glow – pale and smooth - and he was willing to bet she tasted as good as she looked.

But that would wait. "And the rest," he told her.

"This doesn't seem fair," she grumbled, and he wondered if she was a little offended that he hadn't shown much outward reaction to seeing her breasts.

"I'm your boss, I don't have to be fair." Ok. Yes. He was enjoying this, and Sakura was too but she was more determined not to show it. "Now get naked already."

The flat-healed pumps went first, falling on either side of Kakashi's chair, then followed the black skirt. Her panties were revealed inch by tantalising inch, soft cotton white fabric with touches of lace. They were nice, but they would be better on the floor. He'd been hoping for some garters too, but it seemed that her stockings were the kind that held themselves up. Although that was fascinating in its own right.

Sakura hesitated and sat in only her underwear and sheer stockings with a hot flush touching her cheeks. Was she embarrassed? Kakashi couldn't understand how anyone could be embarrassed about a body like that. He loved how she looked. He loved how her sleek thighs met her hips which tapered to her narrow waist, and how her outline flared again at her shapely shoulders, meeting an elegant neck that sloped before flowing down to full breasts, a flat stomach, and back to the point where those sleek thighs met, covered with negligible cloth that did nothing to hide how damp she was. He could even smell her.

And though he thoroughly enjoyed everything he was being treated to, he didn't even bat an eyelash. Sakura didn't like that. It was clear that when she deigned to take her clothes off for someone, she expected a grateful reaction.

"Now you take something off," she said contrarily.

"No," he said simply. "Take off the underwear."

"No," she said, as equally simple. "Make me."

It was a clear invitation whether she realised it or not. "Alright then," he sighed as he took off the wide-rimmed Hokage hat and placed it atop Sakura's head, letting the cloth sun blocker drape around her shoulders. It would only gave gotten in his way, and Sakura looked slightly mollified to be gaining _some_ clothing at least. But, hooking a hand behind each of Sakura's knees to gently pull them apart, that placated smile quickly slid from her face as he began kissing the impossibly soft skin of her inner thigh, just where he'd touched her before; exactly where the white lace of her stockings ended.

She liked that. He heard her sigh and felt her hand brush through his hair. Just to keep her on her toes, he nipped her, hard enough to make her gasp and leave a mark. He wanted to leave several marks, all over her, but it seemed a shame to mare such flawless skin, so he soothed the small bite with his tongue and pressed his lips further towards the junction of her legs.

"Have you thought what you will do when you retire?" she asked, perhaps feeling it was too quiet.

"Dunno." He wasn't really committed to answering. He was so close to the source of that heady scent that penetrated his brain, switched half of it off and roused deeper, darker parts. "Guess I'll be a jonin."

"You can't," she pointed out. "Once a Hokage, always a Hokage. You'll be the Rokudaime until you die."

"Don't depress me," he admonished, and pressed his mouth against the very centre of her.

Sakura gave a soft cry and her thighs quivered and jerked beneath his hands. He could _taste _her. That earthy primitive taste that was different every time, but there was a touch of sweetness to Sakura that made him want to tear the panties aside and explore her properly. He rubbed his tongue over the seam of her and his reward was another shaky moan as her thighs tensed and tried to tighten around his head. He held her in check.

"Do you want to take off your underwear now?" he asked.

Of course she did. She looked at him through eyes hooded with lust and desire, and he could see that there was nothing she wanted more than to feel his mouth back against her… but the cheekiness had never left those same eyes. "You first," she egged.

Sakura would never obey him, even when she was supposed to be pretending to.

Well, Kakashi still had ways of coaxing.

He pulled her from the desk and back into his lap, turning her as he did so she faced the desk again. Sakura glanced over her shoulder at him curiously, but he jerked his chin in the direction of the typewriter. "Start the letter over."

"What?" she said with incredulity.

"We've kinda messed up the last draft, and you said yourself that this needs to be done today, so get to it already."

She gave him a saucy little smile, knowing exactly what he was up to, and turned to set up fresh paper in the typewriter's roll. The moment she struck the first key, Kakashi grazed a finger over her dampened cloth-covered sex. Her gasp was like music to his ears and a delicious shiver ran through her; one that Kakashi felt far too well with her sitting directly on his neglected erection. He had to master his own breathing before he noticed she'd stopped typing.

"Keep going," he told her plainly, letting her work out for herself that he wasn't going to touch her unless she did the work.

Distractedly she sought out the next key and pushed the lever down, only to nearly jolt straight off his lap when Kakashi pressed a finger to her core and dragged it up and over her clitoris in a hard, inexorable stroke. She released the lever to grab at his robes and hang on for dear life, but Kakashi sternly caught it and moved it back.

"You're not to stop," he warned, nipping her shoulder. "Or I will."

"Yes," she whispered, "Hokage-sama…"

If only she was this obedient when they weren't exchanging sexual favours. She made a serious effort to focus on the typewriter then, hunting for the right key and pressing down the lever, releasing small gasps every time Kakashi drew his finger in small, indolent circles over her sex. She was breathing hard, her skin was warm and moist with perspiration, and her hips shifted restlessly over his, moving in time to the rhythm of his fingers and inadvertently rocking against his arousal. The sensation was exquisite. Kakashi let his eyes slide shut, flexing his hips against hers to feel more of the slow, grinding contact.

Her dampness had soaked into his robes, and it almost felt as if nothing lay between them. As if her naked pussy was sliding against his naked cock, and it would only take the smallest shift to wedge himself deep into that tight, wet little body of hers. Just imagining it made his erection twitch and harden almost painfully. His fingers moved against Sakura more punishingly, rewarding him with renewed moans and more fervent rocking.

"Kakashi… Kakashi-sama… I can't…" Her fingers clutched the lever so hard her knuckles were white, but she wasn't moving it anymore. Instead she was leaning her forehead against her arm, panting heavily as she rolled her hips more intensely against the ridge of his penis. It was no longer playful teasing. She moved with intent to seek gratification, not caring how she took it, only that it was near. "I'm… I'm going to…" she gasped out.

No she wasn't. Not without him.

Sakura almost yelped as Kakashi surged to his feet, sending his chair crashing back into the window ledge and Sakura forward over the desk. Without preamble he nudged her creamy thighs apart and hiked up his own robes to find the fly of his pants. Sakura heard it happen only seconds before her panties were tugged aside and a hot, heavy weight began pressing into her.

"Oh, yes…" she whispered in a near delirium. She angled her hips back to receive him better, and the incredible feeling of fullness and tightness as he slid inside her completely was enough to make her cry out in excitement. He touched all the right places, filling her, dominating her, not just inside her but around her. His body heat warmed her back and his hand braced against the desk beside her own as he dropped indulgent kisses along the length of her exposed shoulder and neck.

"Do you have any idea," he murmured, grunting as he drew his hips back and thrust hard back into her, "how long I've been waiting for this?"

"A fair idea," she murmured back, biting her lip at the irresistible wave of pure physical pleasure that went all the way to her toes.

"I bet. Since you're entirely to blame for me not getting any action for so long."

"Probably because you talk too much during the crucial parts," she said with a cheeky laugh that quickly merged into a gasp as another thrust jerked her body.

"You've given me a lot of trouble, you know," he said, stroking his hand over her back to pause it at the soft swell of her hip. "It's only right that I exact a little retribution."

"Retribution?" she purred, wriggling her rump against him encouragingly. "Isn't fucking me over your desk enough?"

"Don't be so crass. This is legitimate salary negotiation, if you recall."

Her laughter was a light-hearted sound that endeared her to him, especially since he could change the sound of it with just one, deep leisurely stroke of his length inside her. She was responsive and her reactions were earnest, and she pushed back to meet each shove of his hips eagerly and without inhibition. Each little moan was like musical note, and her loud gasp and cry when he struck her ass made it all worthwhile.

"You spanked me!" she accused indignantly.

"You liked it," he reminded.

"No, I did n – _ah!_"

He did it again, hard enough to sting and leave a pink mark but certainly not enough to injure a kunoichi of her calibre. "Yes, you do," he grunted, closing his eyes as she tightened around him with a shudder. "I can feel it, Sakura."

"Sadist," she hissed unconvincingly as a third smack made her rhythm falter and her back curve. She was clutching the edge of the desk and the typewriter so fervently and her pussy caressed him so tightly that he knew she was close.

"Masochist," he returned, sweetly, leaning over her and letting himself go completely, ready to join her in climax. "_My _little masochist."

The knock that rapped smartly on the door at that moment was nearly the death of him. Beneath him, Sakura gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth, her body suddenly rigid and unyielding.

"_Not. Now." _Kakashi shouted hoarsely, trying to reign in the control that he'd so wilfully released a fraction of a moment ago. It did not help that Sakura was trying to wriggle out from under him, which did more to exacerbate the situation than alleviate it.

The young voice of the chunin spoke nervously. "But Sakura-san said you needed Team Four's mission report from three years ago. I have it here, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi succeeded in pinning Sakura's arms to the desk and thrust hard into her to silently warn her that she wasn't going anywhere. Her fingers trembled and curled and she only just held onto her breathless cry so that it came out a whimper. "I don't want it," he ground out at the door.

"But Sakura-san said-"

"Sakura-san is not in a _position_ to give orders right now," Kakashi snapped. Said young woman groaned into her lip. "Just go away!"

"But, what should I do with the report?"

"Ichiro-san – just slide it under the door!" Sakura called before Kakashi could clap a hand over her mouth.

"Sakura-san, is that you?"

"Yes," she replied evenly enough, even though the man above her was doing his best to distract with small kisses on her shoulder and slow thrusts.

"Is everything ok?"

Kakashi tweaked her nipple. Her voice gained an octave. "_Yes._"

"I'll just slide it under the door shall I?"

"Oh, yes! That would be great!"

There was some fumbling – on both sides of the door, but no file appeared.

"It's too big, Sakura-san. Can't I just come in and-"

"_No!_" Both lovers shouted as one.

Ichiro-san got the picture and after a long, agonising pause of terrible realisation, he said in a small voice, "Ok, I'llcomebacklater." Rapidly, his shadow vanished from the gap of light beneath the door.

Unable to hold back, Kakashi uttered something guttural like, "_finally,"_ and hastily flipped Sakura onto her back. Papers went flying and the Hokage's hat rolled off her head and onto the floor. She laughed playfully, but Kakashi was in no light mood anymore. He shoved himself inside her as deep as she could take him and began thrusting as hard as he dared. The smile quickly slid from Sakura's lips as she adjusted to this new, intense rhythm and the end that they'd so narrowly missed before the interruption was getting closer and sweeter than ever.

"Faster! I need to feel you!" she gasped, clutching at his robes and winding her stocking-clad legs around him to pull him even tighter into her, while his body pounded so ferociously on hers that even the desk was beginning to move.

The pace couldn't be maintained. It was too much. Sakura's face turned upwards in a grimace of pleasure and fresh, shaky moans broke from her lips. "Kakashi – I'm going to – don't stop!" she gasped. "I think I'm going to…"

He knew when she did. Cries tore from her throat, her body snapped taut, and her inner walls convulsed around him in such a basic, archaic demand that he had no choice but to follow. Orgasm ripped through him so violently he cried out her name as his release spilled into her in a short, jerky series of desperate pumps.

Slowly, the world came back into focus. It was tempting to slump onto the quietly panting girl beneath him, what with all the sensation in his limbs having fled almost entirely, but somehow he managed to keep himself upright. Sakura's eyes slid open languidly and she gave him a sated, lopsided smile.

"Worth at least a ten percent raise, I think," she remarked.

"Ugh," was all Kakashi could conjugate as he slid limply back into his chair. Sakura followed and made sure to give him a long, lazy kiss on the lips before relaxing against his chest. His hand stroked her naked back absently, and neither of them seemed to care that they sat before a wide open window and the door to this very public office wasn't at all locked. For a moment, all the work and the unfinished letter didn't matter. This was their moment.

"Promise you'll always be my assistant," he said heavily, realising he'd never actually acknowledged his need for her out loud. He knew very well that without her he was like a boatman without an oar, or a bird without its wings, and he'd known that for a while. But now he realised that not only did he desire her help as an assistant, he also desired _her. _Her and her company in all forms.

"Of course," she whispered, kissing him on the cheek. "Till the day you retire."

"And you'll retire when I do too, right?"

She looked at him. "Yeah. I told you, Naruto won't need me the same," she said, and then grinned. "That, and I could never take him seriously enough to follow his orders day in and out."

"You never follow my orders either."

"Only out of love," she teased. "I'm _your _assistant only, Kakashi. No one else's."

"Sure," he smiled. "You're mine."

From her narrowed eyes, he knew she caught the double meaning, but she didn't protest or correct him. She only smiled. "We need to retype the letter," was all she told him.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if you want that ten percent raise, you can type it yourself."

She pouted.

"And you'll damn well do it naked too."

Her smile spread wide again. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

* * *

A week later, a secretary grovelled up to the Kazekage's desk. "A letter from the Hokage, Gaara-sama."

Gaara accepted the scroll from his secretary without a word and carefully unrolled it before him. He didn't get many letters from the recent sixth Hokage, and the few he did receive were always short and succinct. Gaara doubted much of a friendship would really blossom between them until Naruto took over. Only really then would Konoha and Suna be truly unshakable allies.

_As you know… _blah, blah, blah_… __deteriorating trade relations… new avenues… _etc, etc, etc… _the terms and conditions of the new trade agreement are open for discussion… What's the matter? Don't you want to touch me? I don't mind. Go ahead._

_I know a great way to promote 'good will', between __us__._

Gaara set down the letter slowly and pondered for a moment. "Kenzaki."

"Yes, Gaara-sama?" his secretary bowed.

"Compose a letter to the Hokage of Konoha. Tell him that if he contacts me again with wishes to touch me, I will be forced to invade the fire country and kill him."

"Very good, Gaara-sama."

Naruto's ascension to Hokage just couldn't come fast enough, in Gaara's opinion.


End file.
